ANAHEIM, Calif. _ The Los Angeles Angels had a combined 51 home runs and 187 runs batted in on the bench for Wednesday's series finale against the Cincinnati Reds in Angel Stadium: Neither Mike Trout nor Albert Pujols, who bat third and fourth, respectively, were in the lineup.
"This is a tremendous bench," manager Mike Scioscia joked before the game. "We've been trying to add depth to the team, and I guess we found one way to add bench depth."
Although Trout's day off was more of a maintenance issue, a day the star center fielder can combine with Thursday's off day to "refresh," as Scioscia said, Pujols is dealing with a potentially more serious issue: plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
Pujols, 36, played the first four months of 2013 with plantar fasciitis in his left foot before the fascia ligament finally snapped in late July, knocking him out for the season but essentially replicating the surgical procedure he would have had after the season had the ligament held up through September.
Pujols recovered to hit .272 with 28 home runs and 105 RBIs in 2014, and though his average dipped to .244 in 2015, he slugged 40 homers with 95 RBIs.
Pujols underwent surgery to repair the plantar plate in his right foot last November and recovered in time to start a 2016 season in which he is batting .263 with a team-high 26 homers and 103 RBIs, second-most in the American League.
The plantar fasciitis flared up "a couple weeks ago," Scioscia said, but the manager added that the condition is not as severe as the one that hobbled Pujols in 2013. Scioscia expects Pujols, who has collected three hits in four of his last seven games, to play Friday night in Seattle.
"Albert is one of the toughest people I've ever seen put a uniform on, and he's going to play if he's able to go out there," Scioscia said. "He's been managing it and playing very well, obviously."
